AGU Grammar and Style Guide

AGU Publications has updated its manuscript style, reflected in the below guide. Read about it in EoS Editors’ Vox. The updated style will be applied to manuscripts during the typesetting process. Please use the below updated guide as you prepare new submissions.

AGU follows American Psychological Association (APA) style on grammar, punctuation, table formatting, citations, and references. This full guide includes basic APA style (and exceptions) and AGU-specific style. The Brief Guide to AGU Style and Grammar can be found here.

For detailed information, see Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition.

Reference Format

This section explains and gives examples of in-text citations and reference list for different media.

AGU follows APA reference style as found in the Publication Manual of the APA, Sixth Edition. Please note that all sources cited in text, tables, and figures must appear in the reference list, and all entries in the reference list must be cited in text. References that are only cited in supporting information should also be included in the reference list of the paper and cited in text. Data sets that are not newly reported as part of this research should also be cited in the references.

Text citations. In-text should be cited using author surname(s) and the date of publication:

Note that author names are not italicized and a comma follows the author name(s) if the reference is enclosed in parentheses. If a multiple-author citation is in the running text, use the word “and”; if in a parenthetical citation, use the ampersand:

Zhu and Zhang (2016) found that….

A subsequent study found that… (Zhu & Zhang, 2016).

For references by three or more authors, use “et al.” after the first author: (Zhang et al., 2005). Please note, this is a deviation from APA style which lists all author names in works by three to five authors in the first citation in text and “et al.” in subsequent citations.

If a parenthetical citation includes two or more papers, separate the citations with a semicolon and list alphabetically by first author name: (Forbes et al., 1999; Hausler & Wu, 2001).

Exception: You may distinguish a major citation from others by inserting a phrase such as see also, before the remaining, which should be in alphabetical order: (Zimecki & Thomas, 2001; see also Jong, 1999; Rembrandt et al., 2007). You may also describe the seminal work outside of parentheses then include more minor contributions at the end of the sentence in parentheses in alpha order.

If two or more citations by the same author(s) are listed consecutively, they should be combined: (Jones, 1999, 2001; Jones & Tuller, 2003, 2004; Jones et al., 2006, 2008).

To distinguish two or more papers by the same author(s) published in the same year, add a, b, c, etc. after the year: (Park, 1995a,1995b; Park et al., 2001a, 2001b, 2001c); the corresponding letter should also appear with the date in the reference list.

If two or more references of more than three but less than six surnames with the same year, shorten to the same form (e.g., both Jones, Tuller, Park, & Wu, 2013, and Jones, Tuller, Park, Le Pinchon, & Johnson, 2013), shorten to cite the surnames of the first authors and of as many of the subsequent authors as necessary to distinguish the two references followed by a comma and “et al.”: Jones, Tuller, Park, and Wu (2013) and Jones, Tuller, Park, Le Pinchon, et al. (2013).

If two or more references from the same year contain the same first six or more authors, use a, b, c, and so on for the in-text citation and in the references list (e.g. Tuller et al., 2016a; Tuller et al., 2016b). This is the case even when the entire author lists are not identical. This is to avoid ambiguity in the in-text citation. See also References list, below.

If there are different first authors having the same last name, citations should always include the first initials to avoid ambiguity.

For citations that appear in parentheses, use commas to set off the publication year: (see Figure 3 of Zhu et al., 2013, for linear growth rates).

Avoid reference citations in the abstract unless dependent on or closely related to another paper (e.g., companion, comment, reply, or commentary on another paper(s)). If included, also include the DOI after the year: (Izett & Fennel, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GB005667) or Izett and Fennel (2018, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GB005667).

Reference list. Reference entries should be ordered alphabetically by the last name of the first author. Follow a strict letter-by-letter alphabetization of the entire last name, ignoring spaces in surnames with multiple words (Lefer before Le Pichon, Vander Linden before van Giessen). When alphabetizing surnames, consider that “nothing precedes something” e.g., Brown before Browning. Other examples: Sanders before St. Amant, MacMillian before McArthur—i.e., alphabetize them literally, not as if they were spelled out.

All authors’ initials and surnames are given in reverse order; include a comma between surname and initials. Include periods between initials.

For two to seven authors, use a comma then an ampersand before the final author.

For eight or more authors, include the first six author names, followed by “et al.”. E.g.: Yao, Q., Brown, P.M., Lui, S., Rocca, M.E., Trouet, V., Zheng, B., et al. (2017).…. Note: This represents an exception to APA reference style. AGU’s latex template and APA style in reference management software do not include this exception. You do not need to update your manuscript with this exception; it will be applied by the production vendor during the copy-editing process.

If two or more references from the same year contain the same first six or more authors, use a, b, c, etc. after the year. This is the case even when the entire author lists are not identical. This is to avoid ambiguity in the in-text citation. See Text Citations section, above, on how to cite in-text.

A publication date must be given for each reference.

Note the use of lowercase letters to allow differentiation of text citations of work published in the same year when at least the first six authors are the same.

The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a required part of the citation for AGU journal articles. When they are known, DOIs should be included for non-AGU publications.

List references by the same first author in the following order:

First author alone, chronologically (earliest first):

Smith, R. (2000a). ….

Smith, R. (2000b). ….

Smith, R. (2003). ….

2. With one coauthor, alphabetically by coauthor and then earliest first when identical author lists:

Smith, R., & Allen, F. A. (2001). ….

Smith, R., & Frank, L. A. (1998). ….

Smith, R., & Frank, L. A. (2001). ….

3. With two or more coauthors, alphabetically by surname of the second author:. Arrange references with the same first author and different second or third authors alphabetically by the surname of the second author or, if the second author is the same, the surname of the third author, and so on. One-author entries precede multiple-author entries even when multiple-author work was published earlier:

Smith, R. (2016).

Smith, R., Allen, F. A., & Baker, T. L. (1999). ….

Smith, R., & Roberts, D. H. (2005). ….

Smith, R., Roberts, D. H., & Jones, J. (1998). ….

Smith, T. (1998). ….

Alphabetize different first authors having the same last name according to the initials of their first names. In-text references should always include the first initials (even when year of publication is different) to avoid ambiguity.

Elements and Examples of Common References

The following explain elements, formatting, and provide examples of the most commonly cited reference types.

Article in journal

Authors, publication date, article title, journal, volume, and pages/citation number must be included. Note, there is no period after DOIs.

Article titles: Use sentence case for article titles, capitalizing the first word of the article title, subtitle, and proper nouns. Do not use quotation marks or italics.

Periodical/journal titles: Give the entire periodical title—do not abbreviate. Use title case, capitalizing major words and proper nouns. Italicize titles of periodicals.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (2003). Managing asthma: A guide for schools (NIH Publication No. 02-2650). Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/lung/asthma/asthsch.pdf

Hyphenation

Compound words can be open as two words, combined as a solid word, or hyphenated. Hyphenation follows APA grammar rules. If an applicable rule is not listed below, consult the dictionary and AGU’s Word List at the end of this document, then follow hyphenation and compound word usage of your scientific discipline. See also Words formed with Prefixes section in this guide.

Do not hyphenate if adjective is modified by an adverb: very high frequency signals.

There may be instances of a temporary compound that is modified by an adverb and another that is not, such as “high-frequency waves” and “very high frequency waves”; do not treat them similarly (i.e., do not hyphenate both or leave both open). The presence of the adverb in the second combination makes the difference.

Nouns

In general, new compound nouns are spelled with two words and without hyphens. Check dictionary (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (2005)) for permanent closed and opened forms. If word is not in the dictionary, is not described below, and does not appear in AGU’s Word List, use community standard, employing hyphens if clarity is needed.

The same vowel would be repeated (intra-aggregate, semi-infinite), except co-, de-, pre-, pro-, and re- may be set closed even when a double vowel forms (preexist); but hyphenate if triple vowel results.

Use an en dash if the second element is a proper noun or proper adjective consisting of more than one word (pre–World War II, post–Civil War period).

Use two hyphens if the second element consists of more than one word (hyphenated) (non-time-homogeneous equation, non-English-speaking people).

If the second element contains more than one word and is a combination that we never hyphenate, match the solution to the type of prefix:

Other prefixes are in the dictionary only as combined forms and cannot stand alone (e.g., non-, pre-).

In some cases, the meaning will permit the prefix to be attached to the first word of the second element: nonsteady state

In other cases, use an en dash or rephrase: pre-solar wind or before the solar wind, non-fully persistent (“non” applies to “fully persistent,” not just “fully”).

When multiple prefixes precede the same base word, the prefixes should not stand alone; e.g., use preseismic and postseismic, not pre- and postseismic. Change mid- and high-latitude (as adjectives) to midlatitude and high-latitude or middle- and high-latitude.

Spaces

Include a single space after words, sentences, and periods following initials of names (T. K. Singh).

Periods

In addition to ending a complete sentence, notable uses of periods are:

Initials of names (T. K. Singh)

Abbreviation of United States when used as an adjective: U.S. Army

Latin abbreviations: a.m., cf., i.e., and vs.

Reference abbreviations: Vol., Eds., etc.

Do not use in the following situations:

For state names: New York, NY, Washington DC, etc.

Capitalized abbreviations and acronyms

At the end of a URL or DOI in the References. In text, include in parentheses or rewrite sentence so that it doesn’t end in a URL.

Metric and non-metric measurements except “inch” is “in.” so that it’s not misinterpreted

Commas

Serial Comma: Use a serial comma; in a list of three or more, use a comma before a conjunction: “Only density, pressure, and speed had any effect on the results.”

Nonrestrictive clauses: Use commas to set off nonessential information from sentences that would retain their meaning if the set off text were removed: “The sites in this study, which were all above sea level, were selected for their…. “

With Parameters: It is not necessary to set off variables in text with commas (or parentheses) if they directly follow the parameter for which they stand: “The modeling equations can be closed by specifying the constitutive equations for the stress tensor T of gas and solids, drag D, and heat transfer Q.”

However, if a phrase separates the variable and the parameter, then retain enclosures (either commas or parentheses but be consistent within a paper): “The enthalpy (h), the thermal conductivity (k), and the volumetric heat transfer coefficient for the exchange of heat between the gas and pyroclasts (Q)….”

Follow community standard usage with parameters, even if inconsistent. That is, any of the following are acceptable:

temperature T

temperature, T,

temperature (T)

Commas in Numbers: Use a comma only in numerals with four or more digits. Exceptions are:

Page numbers: page 3457

Binary digits: 00101110

Serial numbers

Degrees of temperature

Acoustic frequency designations

Jr. and III: Do not use commas around or before Jr., Sr., or III except in reference list for authors in inverted order: “House, J. H., Jr., &….”

Do not use a comma:

Before a restrictive clause: “The multiyear plan that was signed by both governments…” (restricting the meaning to this specific plan)

Between two parts of a compound predicate: “The research team extracted and analyzed the samples.” Not “The research team extracted, and analyzed the samples.”

Examples of correct comma usage

Use a comma:

After the results were computed, we made a log plot of the data. (introductory adverb clause)

Using the data, we constructed a graph. (participial phrase)

To confirm the results, a second experiment was planned. (infinitive phrase)

The results being in question, the experiment was repeated. (nominative absolute)

In general, the results from the two studies are in agreement. (sentence modifier)

Initially, the current meters produced ambiguous data. (adverb ending in -ly)

In the references above, the reader may find further details of the methodology used here. (could be misread)

After reweighing, the samples were subjected to further tests. (ends in verb form)

We performed the experiment at room temperature, but the results were not as good. (compound sentence)

In the cool, humid climate the plants thrived. (a series of adjectives)

The samples were collected in a glass beaker, which had been washed, dried, and weighed. (nonrestrictive)

The data, the number of echo soundings per second, were entered into the computer. (nonrestrictive appositive)

The distance per unit time, or velocity, is important to this calculation. (nonrestrictive appositive)

While a few were sandstone, the rocks were mostly granite. (introductory subordinate clause)

Papers based on data from Pioneers 10 and 11 conclude that a magnetic field decreases, while papers based on the data from Voyagers 1 and 2 are consistent with the Parker model. (nonrestrictive clause)

At the mountaintop, where the air is thin, it is necessary to wear oxygen masks. (nonrestrictive)

The altitudes above 120 km, where O3(ν) fluorescence was too weak to be observed, provided data considered irrelevant for this study. (nonrestrictive)

This follows the theory of Smith & Ames (1980), who solved the full MHD equations. (nonrestrictive phrase)

The expedition was a joint effort of American, Canadian, and French scientific societies. (series)

Thus, although the temperature is lowered, it did not affect the results. (Thus followed by introductory phrase)

If the lava flow were emplaced in this 550 year period, it would also have been entirely submarine. (If, then)

Do not use a comma:

Nappes therefore appear to have common history.

We dismissed data having high or low values and plotted the remaining data on a T–S grid. (compound verb)

An examination of Figure 4 indicates that the midlatitude values are relatively low for this parameter and that high-latitude values are quite divergent. (parallel dependent clause)

In the area where O3 molecules are densest, damage by aerosols was the greatest. (restrictive phrase)

It was understood that given the above constraints, agreement would be tenuous. (after “that”)

These migmatites remained within the field long enough to deform while they were partially molten. (“while” meaning “at the same time”)

We did not perform the experiment because the specimen was contaminated. (before a restrictive subordinate clause at end of sentence)

Virtually all the Mauna Loa lavas encountered are interpreted to be subaerially emplaced. (exception to after -ly

Quotation Marks

Use quotation marks to:

Quote material directly from a cited source.

Identify a word or phrase used as an ironic comment, slang, inverted/coined expression. Use quotations only once for a particular phrase; thereafter, do not use quotation marks.

Set off title of an article or chapter in a periodical or book when mentioned in the text.

Colons and Semicolons

In addition to APA standard colon and semicolon usage:

Do not use colons after forms of the verb “to be,” after prepositions, or to separate a verb from its object. Colons may be used after forms of “to follow.” If you want to retain the colon for any of the above cases, insert “as follows” or “in the following” or “for the following.”

Use a semicolon, not a comma, before “hence” when it introduces an independent clause: “The results were uncertain; hence, we did not use them.”

Italics and boldface

Italics may be used for emphasis, but sparingly. Do not use in long phrases, as a complete sentence, or as whole paragraphs. Use italics to:

Define ranges of a scale (“Respondent could choose any value from 0 (not important) to 10 (very important).”)

Introduce a technical or key term. After it has been used once, do not continue to italicize it.

Do not use boldface or all capitals for emphasis or definition; use italics instead.

Note: Latin phrases are not italicized except genus and species names.

Grammar

Singular vs plural with certain nouns:

Number: “A,” as in “a number of..” takes plural verb: “A significant number of points are in large disagreement with (2) and (3).”

“The” takes singular verb: “From Table 3 it is apparent that the number of points over which averages are taken varies considerably between data divisions.”

Set and group (collective nouns) should take singular verb unless the individuals of the group are to be emphasized: “A set of points, such that N and X are both … are defined as feasible designs for satisfying the information demand of the nth parameter.” And “Furthermore, the set of nonzero Lagrange multipliers represents the set of trade-off ratios between the principal objective and each of the constraining objectives.”

“Data” must take the plural verb; however, “geodetic datum” is singular, and “geodetic datums” is plural.

“Series” can take singular verb if individuals in series are not emphasized: “A series of models have been constructed that approximate the measured horizontal disturbance at the Earth’s surface derived by Langel (1973).” And “The series that we used helps to identify the position of the vector.”

“The” percentage always takes a singular verb. “A” percentage can take either a plural or singular verb depending on object of preposition: “A substantial percentage of these individuals are quite sure that they have made the best decision.”

Percent can take either plural or singular verb depending on object of preposition: “Roughly 8% of all proton velocities were contoured.” And “About 9% of the field was rejected.”

Total takes a singular verb: “A total of 98 field stations was established with an elevation range from 4400 to 9000 m.”

Chain takes a singular verb: “The changes in neutral composition trigger a complex chain of events, which affects not only the distributions but also the emission rates.”

Proportion can take either plural or singular verb depending on object of preposition: “A relatively larger proportion of bound H2 molecules emerge and flow from the hotter dayside to the cooler nightside.”

Sequence takes a singular verb: “The following sequence of boundary conditions is therefore obtained for the free surface geometry.”

Part (determine singular or plural sense): “Part of the results of the simple model are compared with magnetic field mappings of IMP and Mariner 5.” And “The part that we used was not properly verified.”

Fraction (determine singular or plural sense): “A large fraction of the reports available are clustered over the continent.” And “A fraction will be chosen that is indicative of the actual cost per person.”

“None” may take either plural or singular depending on emphasis: “None of the outliers are from earlier parts of the records.”

Spelling

Spelling should conform to American English as in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (2005). If the dictionary gives a choice, use the first spelling listed. See also AGU’s Word List at the end of this guide.

Do not use double final consonants before endings (use “equaled” not “equalled”). Drop the vowel when adding suffixes “-ment” and “-able” (use “judgment” not “judgement.” If both forms are given in the dictionary, use the spelling listed first: Equaled, not equalled (but controlling); focuses, biases, not focusses, biasses; focused, biased not focussed, biassed; pluses, not plusses; modeling, not modelling; judgment, not judgement; acknowledgment, not acknowledgement, sizable, not sizeable (but noticeable).

Capitalization

See APA Publication Manual for basic capitalization rules. Please note the different capitalization rules between titles in-text and those in the reference list. Notable rules:

Capitalize major words in the article’s title, but not conjunctions and articles (“title case”).

Use title case for other titles appearing in the text of the article.

Capitalize verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, and all words with four or more letters.

Capitalize both words in hyphenated compounds and the first word after a colon or dash including table titles and figure legends.

In references, titles of articles and books use “sentence case,” where only the first word, first word after a colon or em dash, and proper nouns are capitalized.

In references, titles of journals and periodicals use “title case,” where the major words, but not conjunctions and articles, are capitalized.

In table headings and figure captions, capitalize only the first word and proper nouns (sentence case).

Capitalize nouns followed by numerals or letters that denote a specific place in a numbered series. E.g., Experiment 2, Site 17, Table 6.

For mixed case abbreviations, such as for programs and missions, follow original capitalization of sponsoring organization. For example, NASA’s overview of MAVEN shows “Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN).”

Commonly Used Proper Names

The following is a list of commonly used proper names with unusual spellings or accented letters. If community standard is not to use accents or umlauts, you may choose not to use them, but be consistent throughout the paper.

Since terms such as convergence, divergence, currents, swells, water masses, and jets (air currents) have varying degrees of importance to different types of authors (biologists, chemists, geologists), follow the community standard.

The following is AGU style for commonly occurring geographical terms. This is not an inclusive list. Check atlas for recognized geographic features.

Note that generic terms such as lake, mountain, river, or valley are capitalized when used with a proper name no matter how they are listed in an atlas or gazetteer, except if “the/a river” precedes the proper name: the river Elbe. Also, Hudson River valley.

Capitalize plural geographic features when part of a single name (e.g., Hawaiian Islands) and when used with two or more names, regardless of whether the geographic feature precedes or follows the proper names (e.g., Mounts Washington and Rainier, the Illinois and the Chicago Rivers).

Africa, North, East, West, but central (south except country)
Alps, Southern, Eastern, and Western, but northern and central; also Southern Alps for New Zealand
Andes, sub-Andes, central Andes, inter-Andean
Arctic Ocean
Asia, South, Southeast, central, southeastern, East
Atlantic Ocean, North, South, but northern, southern, central
Caspian Sea (not divided, east, west, north, south)
China, south
Coastal Plain (US)
Earth (as planet rather than substance), but earthward and terrestrial
East Africa
East Antarctica
East Antarctic Ice Sheet
East China Sea
East Coast (referring to the eastern United States)
Eastern Hemisphere (Earth only)
eastern Mediterranean Sea
east Greenland
East Sea, change to Sea of Japan (East Sea)
East Siberian Sea
equator, equatorial
Europe, central, eastern, and western (capitalize Eastern and Western Europe only in political sense, rare)
Faeroe Islands (or Färoe)
Gobi desert
the Hawaiian Islands; the island of Hawaii (or Hawai‘i) (follow au for accent; when referring to the state of Hawaii, do not accent)
the Himalayas (or the Himalaya), Outer, Greater, Lesser, but central, middle, lower
Iceland-Greenland-Norwegian Seas (order may vary)
Indo-Pacific
Jupiter, Jovian, Jovicentric, Jovigraphic
Mars, Martian
Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean, western/eastern, but Arctic mediterranean seas (mediterranean in this case is generic in meaning, i.e., land-locked or mostly land-locked, here referring to several seas within the Arctic as a group)
Middle East (or Mideast)
Midwest
Mojave Desert
the Moon, but lunar
Negev (desert, if used, is lowercased)
New York City (but follow author for adding “City”)
Nordic seas
Northern Hemisphere (Earth only)
North Pole (Earth’s only)
North Sea
open ocean
Pacific Northwest (but northwest Pacific)
Pacific Ocean, North, South, but northern, southern
Pan-African
Pan-American
plate (follow author within paper for capitalization):
African, Antarctic, Arabian, Australian, Caribbean, Cocos, Eurasian, Farallon, Indian, Juan de Fuca, Nazca, North American, Pacific, Philippine, Scotia
Northern California
Sahara (desert, if used, is lowercased)
San Francisco Bay Area or Bay Area
Sea of Japan (preferred), or Japan Sea
solar system
Southern Hemisphere (Earth only)
south China
South China Sea
Southeast Asia, but southeastern Asia
Southern California
Southern Ocean
South Indian Ocean
South Pole (and South Pole Station) (Earth’s only)
South Shetland Islands
the Southwest (only when referring to southwestern United States)
sub-Sahara, subalpine, sub-Andean
the Sun, but sunward and solar
Takla Makan, use Taklimakan
Taklimakan desert
Tibetan Plateau or Plateau of Tibet (aka
Qinghai-Xizang Plateau) but not Tibet Plateau
transatlantic
Venus, Venusian, Venus’s
Victoria Land
the West (of US), the North, the South, the East, and West Coast
West Africa
West Antarctica
west Australia
West Coast (referring to the western United States)
Western Australia (if state meant)
Western Hemisphere (Earth only)
western Siberia
west Greenland
world ocean

Exceptions:

Use the following for both nouns and adjectives: Arctic and Antarctic (however, arctic may be lowercase in papers that do not use Antarctic).

Use subarctic and subantarctic as adjectives, but sub-Arctic and sub-Antarctic as nouns. Note that Antarctica is the continent and Antarctic is the region.

Use state of Washington, but use Washington State.

Miscellaneous Geological and Scientific Terms

Follow usage for rock names. Both capital and lowercase may be used for the same rock within a paper, as they have different connotations. For example, Westerly Granite is a granite with a specific chemical composition, whereas Westerly granite is a more generic term. Use accepted community standard for Groups and Members.

Explosions are initial cap only, e.g., Cowboy, Salmon, Sterling.

Capitalize Hurricane/Typhoon when used with a specific name: Hurricane Andrew, Typhoon June.

Capitalize the attributive adjective (e.g., early, lower) only if it appears here as an officially recognized subdivision; otherwise, use lowercase: late Cenozoic, early Paleozoic, early Pleistocene, Late Jurassic, Upper Permian.

Numbers

Cardinal Numbers/Arabic Numerals

Use numerals:

For 10 or higher; write out under 10, except as indicated below.

With units of measure (abbreviate units if possible).

To make numbers under 10 consistent with larger numbers in a series: “We used data from 6 experiments in the first graph and from 12 to 14 experiments in the second and third graphs, respectively.”

With divisions (part, paragraph, section, rule, model): model 1, section 2, log 1, case 1 (do not change from roman to Arabic if roman numerals are used in figures or if from a non-AGU source).

When implying an arithmetical manipulation: a factor of 7, 4 orders of magnitude, magnification of 50 (50X, use capital “X” closed up to number), 5 times the height; use either 2 or two standard deviations (follow usage but be consistent).

Write out:

For one through nine except as indicated above.

At the beginning of a sentence, a head, or a title (if followed by a unit of measure, spell it out too: Ten kilometers…; or rephrase so that the number (and its unit of measure) does not begin the sentence, head, or title). If necessary to write out, hyphenate (both as noun and adjective) cardinal and ordinal numbers if compound: e.g., twenty-one, twenty-first. However, one hundred is not hyphenated (see number table in the dictionary). Exception: Allow a sentence to begin with a numeral if that numeral is superscripted, such as 14C or 228Th.

For plurals, e.g., tens, not 10s.

Write out a number that directly precedes or follows a numeral: ten 2 m strips; 136 two hour lectures.

In text, spell out fractions. Use “two thirds of the people” (noun form) and “two-thirds portion” (attributive adjective).

Use a zero before the decimal point in a numeral less than unity: 0.002, not .002. However, do not add a zero after decimal point (e.g., 20.), but do retain decimal; adding a zero would change the degree of precision of the measurement.

You may use “number(s),” “no(s).,” or “#” as long as it makes sense, e.g., run number 5, well no. 4, #3 grit.

You may use an abbreviated format for scientific notation,e., 1.365E-3 in text instead of 1.365 × 10–3.

Table Formatting

Each entry in a table should appear in a new cell. Avoid tables created with the tab key and embedded objects. Tables with pictures, color, or embedded objects must be submitted as figures. Notes, bold, italics, and bold-italics is preferred over color in a table. Tables must be editable and must not be embedded as pictures.

Table Numbering

Cite each table in numerical order in the text. Tables in the main body of the text should be numbered consecutively, not by section. Include a table number using Arabic numbers. Do not use table parts (1a, 1b, etc.). Do not use other numeral types such as Roman.

Appendix tables should be numbered separately from the body and should begin with the letter of the appendix (e.g., Table A1 for the first table in Appendix A). Each table must be cited in text.

Table Formatting

Table title: Capitalize major elements (title case). Set in italics. Make the title concise. Longer table notes (including table caption text) should be set as a note.

Column headings should only capitalize first word.

When including citations in the table body, use ampersand; when including citations in the table notes, use “and.” Follow APA citation style.

Table notes can include “Note,” superscript letters, and asterisks and other symbols. Use periods between footnotes.

Use “Note.” for general notes applicable to the entire table, including original table source. Use a Note instead of a long table title/caption.

Use superscript lowercase letters for specific notes to clarify a specific element in the table.

Table 1Hydraulic Test Types Contributing to the Database of this Study

Write out N, S, E, and W when used alone (N-S, E-W okay). Okay to use NNW, etc. (do not change to N-NW; see the dictionary), e.g., air masses from the east, SE, and NW; also N20°E okay.

Units: The metric system should be used throughout. American measurements will be changed to International System of Units.

Date and Time

Use international date format: D Month YYYY, e.g., 1 March 1980. Also acceptable:

1–3 March 1980

between 1 and 3 March 1980, we observed…

1 March to 1 April (not 1 March–1 April)

March 1980 to August 1981

March–April 1991

En dashes should be used only between like things: 1–12 March 1983; but change 1 March–10 April to 1 March to 10 April.

Use 1980s for decades (not 1980’s or 80s).

Use CE (Common Era) instead of AD and BCE (Before Common Era) instead of BC.

For time, use the accepted time standard among your scientific community.

Never use:

1/3/80, 010380

1-3-80

the 1st of March

For age, use abbreviation from Latin (preferred): Ma (mega-annum), Ga (giga-annum), ka (kilo-annum), where “ago” is implied. Or write out: “xx billion/million years ago,” when context is needed.

For duration/lengths of time, write out (“x million years”) or use abbreviation Myr, Gry, Kyr, or yr (for years).

Word List

The following is a list of words and phrases commonly occurring in AGU papers and their treatment (hyphenation, spelling, open or closed up, italics, trademarkss). This list does not include words and phrases appearing in Merriam Webster dictionary unless treatment is different. Please consult Hyphenation section of the AGU style guide for hyphenation rules. Consult also the Merriam Webster dictionary.